davy@RIACS.EDU (05/23/89)
Since there have been several requests from time to time for introductory
material on how to use X11, I have placed a copy of the document we use
here out on expo.lcs.mit.edu. It will also be posted to comp.sources.x
in the next few days. The file is called "x11-intro-doc.tar.Z", and is
in the "contrib" directory on expo.
The document is entitled "Introductory Guide to Using X11 in the RIACS
Generic Environment". To quote the abstract:
The RIACS Generic Environment is a standard work environment
being designed to make it easier for the researchers and support
personnel at RIACS to get their jobs done. Part of this
environment is made up of the X Window System, Version 11 Release
3 (X11), running on Sun workstations and Visual XDS-640 and
Network Computing Devices NCD-16 X display stations. Each user at
RIACS, when his or her account is created, is supplied with a set
of generic start-up files: .cshrc, .login, .twmrc, .xrdb, and
.xsession. This document describes the basics of using the X11
environment provided by these start-up files.
Included in the distribution are:
1. An Imakefile which will allow you to build the document and print
everything out. The "pic" and "tbl" preprocessors, and the "troff"
text formatter with the "-ms" macro package are required. You will
also need to have a PostScript printer to print out the figures.
2. An "Imake.rules" file which contains macros for formatting documents.
You may find this useful for constructing documents of your own.
3. The complete "troff" source to the document. There are sections on
logging in to X through xdm, using xterm scrollbars, using xterm
selections, using the tek window, using the "twm" window manager,
customizing your login session, customizing your resource database,
and customizing "twm".
4. The complete PostScript source to the figures used in the document.
There are 17 figures which are done as screen dumps of an actual
workstation screen to demonstrate various points. These figures were
generated by:
% screendump > file.sd
% pbmtoxwd file.sd > file.xwd
% xpr -device ps file.xwd > file.ps
and then editing the PostScript to change the scaling of the figure to
fit into the document properly. The PostScript produced by "xpr"
should work on most PostScript printers; it has been printed here on
an Apple LaserWriter Plus and a QMS-PS2400 with no problems.
5. A copy of the startup files .cshrc, .login, .twmrc, .xrdb, and
.xsession which we give to each new user when they get an account.
These files produce the "RIACS Generic Environment", which is what the
paper describes. With only minor editing, they can easily be used at
your site also.
6. A copy of the configuration files we use with the X DIsplay Manager,
"xdm". These files work with Sun workstations, Visual XDS-640 X
terminals, and Network Computing Devices NCD-16 X terminals.
Enjoy,
Dave Curry
Research Institute for
Advanced Computer Science
Mail Stop 230-5
NASA Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, CA 94035
davy@riacs.edu